The Silver Trio and The Ghosts of The Past
by Scuse
Summary: It's the first year of Hogwarts for Albus Potter and Rose Weasley, and being sorted into the house with the worst reputation might not give them a good head start. The tension spreads through both the Burrow and Hogwarts as the Weasley family hides many secrets under their rugs and war ghosts start haunting the dungeons after nineteen years of Voldemort's defeat. Post DH Epilogue.
1. The Train Ride

**Chapter One**

 _The Train Ride_

Another school year was about to start and as usual, Platform 9 ¾ was filled with witches and wizards of all ages, some to say goodbye and some to leave, as Hogwarts awaited to fill their empty heads with all sorts of magical knowledge.

It was Victoire Weasley's last year as a Hogwarts student, being appointed Head Girl, and while her family was now mostly aboard, she was still trying to let go from her boyfriend Teddy Lupin's lips. The goodbye had been going on for hours – according to James Potter, for weeks – as they knew that by the end of the summer, they would have to spend a year apart, and just like any other new found sweethearts, they compared the idea of any second separated to going to war.

And while some in the Weasley family found that passion revitalizing, like Lily, others, like James, had grown out of it by the second week of constant snogging at the Burrow and secretly could not wait until the departure ended their honeymoon phase.

That was, however, not in Teddy Lupin's plans ever since the week he received a letter from the Hogwart's Headmaster. He kept it a secret from everyone but his godfather, Harry. And it was the auror who he now searched desperately through the crowd for, right after his girlfriend had hopped on the train.

Teddy was running against the clock, as the Hogwarts Express was about to leave, and he could not catch any glimpse of Weasley red hair on the platform. The last contact he had had with them was waving hello briefly on the parking lot.

He now squeezed his tall and thin body through the people on the platform but any sight of the Potters was nowhere near. The boy was about to lose hope and admit the failure of his plan when a heavy hand grabbed him by the shoulder.

"It's a lot easier for _me_ to find _you_ " Harry said, nodding towards Teddy's turquoise-coloured hair. Teddy smiled in relief; he was indeed a very exquisite figure. Before he could say anything back though, Harry already pushed a piece of cloth into Teddy's hand. "Take good care of it"

"Thank you _so_ much, Harry" Teddy pulled him for a quick hug.

"Any time, son. Say hello to Hagrid for me"

Teddy nodded rapidly and rushed into the crowd again. Luckily, he managed to get underneath the Invisibility Cloak and got on the train before it left the station.

* * *

Albus Potter had been on the train for only a couple of minutes and he had already lost track of his older brother James. The boy disappeared into a crowd of older students and it was beyond Albus' small stature to follow through. His hopes were now on his cousins Rose, Dominique and Fred, who he assumed were right behind.

However, once he turned his head around to check, before even being able to see them, he was aggressively thrown into the ground after hitting something. Immediately, Albus heard his best friend and cousin, Rose, shout his name, but before he could get to his feet, all the books came flying into him again, as if someone had just magically ordered them to do so.

"WHAT ON MERLIN'S NAME WAS THAT?!" Rose rushed to Albus and screamed to a brunette girl standing where the books once were. The cheeks of the attacker were bright red and she covered her mouth with her hands. She seemed Albus and Rose's age, about the average of their heights.

"I'm _so_ sorry!" she apologized, quickly giving out her hand to help the boy get up. He took it, still feeling quite dizzy from the fall. It would take him some time to digest the incident.

"Was that wandless magic?!" Albus' cousin Fred asked her in between giggles. Al didn't notice him nearby until then "That was _awesome_!"

Rose glared at him, pulling Albus closer to her and away from the other girl.

"Yeah…" she responded shyly as she leaned to gather the books from the floor "I do that sometimes when I'm caught by surprise... I-I'm Katrina, by the way"

"Well, you sure are a hurricane" Rose whispered through her teeth and Albus giggled a bit. He was glad the girl didn't hear it though; she seemed very embarrassed by the occasion.

"Fred Weasley, the second, milady!" their cousin rushed towards Katrina and bowed as a gentleman, giving her back the last of the books previously on the floor. "The feisty one is Rose and the flimsy one is Albus"

The younger cousins only rolled their eyes; they were used to that constant picking on the Burrow, growing up with the Weasleys involved a lot of it.

"Well, it was nice meeting you. I didn't really know anyone here yet." the brunette smiled carefully to the two other first years, Albus replied but Rose only nodded "I should get going now" she did motion to leave, but Fred was quick to stop her:

"Oh, nah, nah" he sang, putting his arms around her and leading to the usual Weasley compartment "Don't be so quick to run from Rose's frown, that's just her natural look. You're coming to sit with us, we're the cool kids around!"

Katrina was a little bit speechless by the whole situation and only let herself be led on by Fred. Albus intended to follow their pace, but Rose held him a bit behind.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, holding the book she was carrying ("Hogwarts, A History: An Updated Version" with notes from her own mother) close against her chest "That girl seems like a nightmare"

"C'mon, Rose" Albus giggled, which made her unease "Let me guess what this is about: you are _jealous_ she can do wandless magic, which is not your best forte, am I right?"

"Of course it is not my forte!" her voice turned suddenly high pitched "As you experienced firsthand, not being able to control it can cause quite the damage. I'm _glad_ it is not my forte, Al"

Albus chuckled and decided not to argue. Although she had many of her mother's traits, her father's stubbornness was a part of what made her Rose Granger Weasley. After eleven years, Al got used to that as they were mostly inseparable.

In fact, he was aware he would miss it, as he would miss any other of Rose's traits in case they were in separate houses. That was Al's biggest fear when James pointed out he could be in Slytherin. It wasn't not living up to his father or getting picked on by his cousins; those were inescapable realities regardless of the house he was sorted in. It was being apart from his best friend.

* * *

"James. _Freaking._ Potter." growled Dominique Weasley through her teeth while dragging her cousin by the black, shoulder length hair he let grow during the summer. "I swear if you get us into _freaking_ detention before we even arrive, I am going to personally kick your _freaking_ arse so you won't even make it into Quidditch tryouts"

"OUCH, DOM, STOP _FREAKING OUT_!" he cried, trying to get away from her long, tightened fingers "C'mon, you _have_ to admit it was funny! You saw Duff's face, it was hilarious!" She let him go abruptly and crossed her arms "And by the way, my middle name is Sirius"

"Oh, I'm the one getting serious with you in case I have to get you away from being in trouble _again_ before we can even set our foots to Hogsmead"

"Isn't that what part-Veela friends are for? Also, the 'Sirius' joke is totally outdated by now and I'm sure whatever you're going to buy at Zonko's when we go to Hogsmead will be worth a detention anyway"

Dominique let a small smile slip and punched James on the left arm, which made him crunch a bit before following her towards their usual compartment. Dominique could be a sweet lady when she wanted, but she was definitely never light-handed.

* * *

Teddy Lupin felt his stomach swirl as he searched for the Prefect's carriage, which seemed to have changed from the time he last went to Hogwarts, two years prior. His mind was rushing with the expectations of Vic's response. He was really excited with the surprise as she seemed very hurt when he gave her the news they would be apart. According to her little sister Dominique, she cried for days in a row, but she was quick to deny that to him.

These thoughts, however, did not avoid him from escaping his route when he heard some voices he knew very well from his time at Hogwarts. The high pitched, arrogant, now fifth year Slytherins had given him quite the trouble during his Prefect and Head Boy years. They didn't only seem to have total disregard for the rules, but they contributed heavy-handedly for Slytherin's already bad reputation both in and out of the Quidditch pitch. And while most Slytherins minded their business or easily escaped from getting caught, these snakes had, in Vic's words, an excessive need to rebel for their parents' attention and were constantly boasting about their wrongdoings and exhibiting them as trophies through the halls.

"C'mon, I'm sure your heritage allows you more than 3 galleons, Malfoy" Teddy cringed under his the Cloak when he heard the name through Maximilius Nott's voice, he needed to get closer. Once he approached, what he feared was presented: there was his second cousin, Scorpius Malfoy, whom he met during the winter break of his second year.

"Let's make it 20 then, Nott…" said the platinum-blond boy, he still looked a lot like when Teddy had last seen him, the same slicked back hair and deep grey eyes, but he did grow quite a few inches. Not that it would help him a lot, seeing the Slytherins around him were fairly taller.

"Wow, didn't know your father could make so much money working with blood traitors" the comment by Annabelle Flint made Teddy rather angry, his hair immediately turning red. He absolutely hated that word and these few Slytherins would throw it around many times when referencing to anyone who was on the winning side of the war. Scorpius, however, did not seem very shocked at the allegations. He was well aware of how some purebloods had turned against his father for surrendering and working at the Ministry along with many people they once fought against.

Teddy never met Draco though; Scorpius would come by with his grandmother Narcissa to visit him and his grandmother, Narcissa's sister Andromeda. And although Scorpius insisted a few times, the Manor was always off-limits for Teddy because of its history. It took Scorpius a while to know about it, but once he did, he was never the same again.

Draco was very careful about the media. He and Astoria lived in France with Scorpius until he was four. Then, after the death of the former Death Eater Lucius Malfoy from mysterious causes, Narcissa sickened and made sure her son would return home. Up until that point, the young child didn't have any contact with anything war related, however, the harassment whenever they would go into the public eye easily made it impossible to hide any longer. Scorpius then learned about the burden of being a Death Eater's son.

But Teddy Lupin was not averted by that at all. They quickly became friends and would hang out a lot when Ted wasn't at Hogwarts. He became like a big brother to Scorpius. Until, of course, he found himself in love with Victoire and spending a lot more time with the Weasleys; he and Scorpius ended up losing touch.

"I'm sure scrapping Muggle's toilets is better than anything your father does, Flint" Scorpius spit without letting go of his natural blasé face. "Now will you please accept the bet already so we can play before I graduate?"

Teddy heard Nott growling while he took a deck out of his expensive, old-fashioned robes. Exploding Snaps. Teddy used to rule that game when he was at school, using his seeker abilities. Regardless, he knew Maximilius Nott was very good at it from the secret interhouse championships that were held. His heart started racing thinking of how bullied Scorpius would be if he lost that and ended up in Slytherin.

The young boy, on the other hand, was not afraid at all. He trusted his abilities and even if he failed to win, he knew not much would change from how those other purebloods would treat him. He had been amongst the other high society pureblood families before and the result was avoiding these situations at any cost. Of course, not all of them were unfriendly, but none seemed really worth of spending time with. Scorpius would rather be alone with his books.

The result, unlike Teddy expected, was a quick victory for the Malfoy child, leaving Nott, Flint and their friends with the mouths wide open. Scorpius got up, in his usual formality, and stood out his hand for his galleons.

"Ha-ha" said the Flint girl sarcastically "Great prank, Malfoy. Learned that from the Weasel Store?"

"A bet is a bet" Malfoy maintained his hand firmly.

Maximilius face sobered up and he looked seriously at the two Slytherin beaters sitting beside Malfoy. Before he could say anything, Scorpius' cheek was already against the window glass, his arms aggressively pressed against his back by the two cronies.

Teddy was quick to grab his wand and get off from the Cloak once action began. Nott and Flint jumped at the sight of the boy opening their compartment out of nowhere.

"You better let him go or you won't even have to unpack your things"

"WHERE THE HELL DID _YOU_ COME FROM?!" Nott screamed with his hands still up.

"Did they finally realise your diploma was bullshit and made you come back?" Annabelle spit with her arms crossed.

"It is none of your business, but _this_ will be of _Slughorn's_ if you don't get out _now_ "

They all sighed on their way out. Scorpius seemed little to none affected by the bullying, but avoided staring at Teddy's yellow eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, but the young boy shrugged. "I'll ask some Prefect to deduct points for this"

"Don't" Scorpius said stiffly, still looking away "Slytherin already has many things against it"

Teddy was inclined to agree. It wasn't sympathy for the house, of course, but for the boy he knew was destined to have to survive in it.

"You grew quite a few inches since I last saw you, Scorp" the turquoise-haired young man said flashing him a smile. Scorpius did not respond, but his eyes finally met Ted's. "I see you improved your skills too. Don't forget about the one who taught you to play it first"

Teddy swore he saw a smile on Scorpius' mouth for a few seconds, but the young boy remained dead silent.

"Good luck at Hogwarts. Come see me when you can"

With that, Teddy left Malfoy alone in the compartment. He was pretty sure to hear a muffled "thanks" on his way out.

Luck; that boy would surely need that.

* * *

"Duuude, 'is are so good" said Fred while eating the Jelly Slugs he had just bought from the trolley "You sur' you don't wan' sum, 'Rina?"

The girl nodded negatively. Surprisingly to Rose and Albus, she wasn't grossed out by Fred's bad eating habits. She grew up with three brothers and was used to that sort of behaviour. In a normal setting, she would've actually been very keen to accept, but she was still a bit held back about being around new people, who came from such a different world.

"Hey Al, where's James?" Fred finally realised his cousin had disappeared for a long time claiming he was going to 'give the Duff girl a warm welcome', which was obviously code for a prank and once Fred told Dominique, she ran right after him.

"Why should I know? Aren't _you_ his best friend?" said Albus, remaining quite sulked in the corner by the window. He didn't want to eat anything or his stomach might be aching more because of the anxiety and as Rose was also busy reading one of her books, all the candy was to Fred.

"Well, you're still his _brother_ "

"You don't need to remind me of the misfortunes of life" Albus rolled his eyes and lowered his body to grab his portable enchanted music player, but before he could reach the trunk under the table, the compartment door burst open. "Speaking of the devil…"

"'AMES, 'OM!" Fred said with his mouth full of candy again, which he too quickly swallowed "What took you so long to find us?"

"Let's just say we had a little problem along the way" James responded, massaging his head, still a bit hurt by Dominique's hair pulling. He then proceed to take the seat next to Rose, not before, of course, messing up her hair and making her growl at him.

Dominique sat at the other side, next to Fred, and lifted her legs up to rest them on James' lap. Albus gave up on getting the music player and just sank back to his initial position.

"Er… Who's that?" Once he got up to pick one of Fred's Chocolate Frogs, James finally asked pointing to Katrina.

"That what?" Dom, who hadn't got a glimpse of her, finally saw the girl between Fred and the window.

"Whoa… This is a great story… Okay, so, we were coming to the compartment and then Albus hit something and BAM! All these books came flying right at him and then Rose was really pissed because Katrina was awesome with her wandless magic and I personally invited her to hang out with us"

Katrina chuckled at how much gesticulation Fred used to describe it, although she also felt a bit sorry about their first encounter.

"Wow, Fred" Rose sighed, closing her book "You _really_ need to work on your summarising skills"

"Wow, Rose" Fred replied imitating her voice and throwing Jelly Slugs at her "You sound just like the Potions' Professor"

"Well, hi, Katrina" James said, giving her a big smile "I'm James, the only person you really need to know about here"

"Cocky bastard" Dominique lightly kicked his stomach making him cringe.

"That's Dom" He said with his voice weakened "She isn't always polite. She's cute because she is part-Veela really, but you don't want to see her angry"

"Nice to meet you two" Katrina chuckled lightly. She really didn't know what a Veela meant, but she also didn't feel like asking.

"So… Is it your first year at Hogwarts?" the older Potter said, opening his Chocolate Frog, and received a nodded confirmation from Katrina "Cool, make sure you tell the hat you want to be in Gryffindor. You don't want to end up in the snake pit with Albus here"

James gave his chocolate frog a big bite on the head while Al complained once again about his brother's taunting. The new girl was very lost at their vocabulary, but there wasn't room for questions as the boys started fighting.

"For Merlin's sake, James, will you stop?!" Rose protested, as she happened to be sitting right between the brothers. "It's not even funny anymore"

"Rose's right, James" Dominique added, continuing to rest her legs on his lap once the fighting stopped "And also, even if Al ends up in another house, it will only make Quidditch games more exciting"

"That is if he _makes_ it into a team" James teased, but Al was already ignoring him with a permanent frown, arms crossed and looking out the window.

"What is Quidditch?" Katrina finally got the chance to ask about something, but James looked at her like she had just said an outrageous thing.

"How do you not know what Quidditch is?"

"Merlin, James, you are so inconvenient" Dominique rolled her eyes "She's probably a muggleborn"

"Well, yes, my dad is… A muggle" Katrina was still not used to that word. For her, that was just regular people. A group to which she did not belong, but also to which she didn't feel like belonging any less than the newly presented one.

James felt a little bit embarrassed by his lack of touch, seeing his family was one of the most defensives about muggleborn rights and decided to make it up for it.

"Here" he slid her something through the table "It's Rose's mother on the card. She's also a muggleborn and according to many, the brightest witch of her age"

"Fred told me those were collectibles…" Katrina tried to decline the gift, regardless of being flattered, but was interrupted.

"It's okay. I have hundreds of those at home."

She looked at the card and back to all these people she had just met. She still wasn't sure it was her place to be there. She was waiting to wake up from this dream and realise none of it was true. The letter never came and there was no Herbology Professor knocking on her door. But if it was, even though she was treated very kindly by most of those people, she couldn't see herself ever fitting in.

* * *

Teddy's heart raced as he knocked on the Prefect's carriage door. Warsan Thomas, a Hufflepuff Sixth Year Prefect opened it and almost started screaming once she saw Ted. He made sure to shush her with his hand before muffling "surprise", though.

"Hey Vic, your sister Dom is here!" she announced covering him up with a huge smile.

"Dom, what is…"

Before she could finish the sentence, once she saw Ted she immediately fainted. If it weren't for his Exploding Snaps and seeker skills, he wouldn't have been able to get her before she hit the ground.

* * *

"Vic, wake up, c'mon!" Victoire opened her eyes to see her best friend Diane Corner, offering her tea. She blinked fast and started tried get up "No, no, no. Be careful. Drink this"

Diane pressed the teacup against Vic's lips and her instant reaction was to back down. She looked at the green liquid in front of her hesitantly, but with one more attempt, she sipped it. The taste was bitter and she pushed her friend's hand away after the second sip.

"Oh my, why are you giving me that? I had this really weird dream where Dominique wanted to see me but when I looked it was Ted and..." the Prefects and the Head boy all gave her an unusually sympathetic look "It wasn't a dream, was it?"

"Look who's awake!" Teddy burst into the compartment carrying a bunch of sweets he had just bought from the trolley, then proceeding to stuff his mouth with a handful of them.

"You're here" she muffled still trying to process the information.

"'am heer." he said in between chewing "Want sum' candy?"

"Ted, _why_ are you here?"

His head now started to spin and he sat down at one of the cushions as he swallowed with difficulty. Red Alert. The look on her face was a mist of confusion and disappointment. He hadn't predicted that. Why was she acting upset?

Warsan Thomas quickly made a sign for everyone to leave the couple alone for a few seconds, a couple of girls, however, insisted on hearing through the door.

"Well, Hagrid was ill and the Headmaster offered me to help him as Keeper of the Keys…"

"But you got the internship you wanted in Romania," her voice tone started to raise, which was very uncommon and made him even more unease "I saw you acceptance letter!"

"I know…" he started carefully "I just thought we could spend more time together and…"

"No, Ted" she cut him promptly. He started to see for himself what was said about angry part-Veelas by the Weasleys "You can't just sacrifice your future for me. That's not how it works"

"I-I thought you'd be happy… You were so sad about us being apart"

"I don't look happy now, do I?" she fixed herself on the couch. Her eyes glared deeply into his soul, he felt like a terrible person, like he had violated her trust "Of course I love spending time with you and I wish you could spend this year together, but your education should come first. I would want you to feel the same if it was me going to Healers' School, for example, and leaving you behind for a year.

She tried to get up, but still felt dizzy. He got up to help her, but she raised her hand to stop him.

"I don't like it when you do things behind my back, okay?" her voice turned very soft again, the naturally enchanting part-Veela voice "I think you should leave now. We must be arriving soon"

* * *

Author's note: _so here's the beggining of the story that has been trapped in my mind for a few years now. I have proof read it a few times, but as I am not a native speaker/speller of English, I am more than prone to commiting mistakes. Feel free to point them out and give me any other types of reviews 3 I've got a few chapters ready and will release them in a few time according to your response. This is my first long fanfic here and also my first time with an adventure/less mature story. I plan, however, to write other fanfics about the next generation later, so I guess this is a beggining of a series. I hope you guys enjoy._

 _-S_


	2. The Sorting Ceremony

**Chapter Two**  
 _The Sorting_

Once the Hogwarts Express arrived at the Hogsmead Station, all the old students were quick to leave towards where the Thestrals were. Ted Lupin, still feeling very noxious by his fight with Victoire, was one of the lasts to come out of the train, quickly catching sight of the half-giant figure looking extremely pale.

"Oi, Ted!" Hagrid waved and coughed at the same time, one hand holding a lantern. His eyes were shrinking, the first years following created a safety gap around him to escape from the germs, which made it quite easier for Teddy to get to him.

"Hagrid, mate, you look awful. Should've sent someone else instead"

"Ye don't look good yerself, young man"

"I'll tell you later" Teddy took a deep breath "We mustn't take long. You need to rest"

Their duty began, as they guided the new students to the lake, inside boats. Hagrid went alone at the front, as no one, including Rose, Al and Katrina, was really keen to sharing a small space with a big man in such poor state.

Teddy helped the other students in, but did not chat again with Scorpius or any of the Weasleys. He looked like he wasn't in the mood for talking at all. His hair was a very ugly brown now and his eyes a deep black. Once most students were floating, he got on a boat with the last patch, his thoughts lost on Victoire before they hit the castle.

The person waiting to welcome the first years at Hogwarts was Professor Longbottom, who became Deputy Headmaster after Slughorn declined. Both Rose and Albus were very familiar with Neville, seeing he was very present at many Weasley reunions and events, being also a war hero and friends with their parents.

Neville was married to Hannah Abbott, a former Hufflepuff and current owner of the Leaky Cauldron, who they saw a couple of weeks prior when they went to buy their school supplies. She said to Albus and Rose that Neville was really excited, though also slightly scared, about the idea of more Weasleys at Hogwarts. She also mentioned he was rooting for them to be in Gryffindor, as he was the Head of the house.

Rose thought at the time it would only be one more person to disappoint. She had come to terms for a while now with the fact there was no way she would be a Gryffindor, despite all her father's certainty she would make a great one. The week her letter arrived, she heard her parents arguing in the kitchen about it.

Hermione let it slip she thought Rose was a Ravenclaw and Ron was rapidly in denial, talking about Rose's traits that were very untruth like bravery, nobility, loyalty… Although it was funny for Rose to see how bad was her father's reading of her, she understood why he wanted to be like that so bad.

There was a really heavy burden that came with being a daughter of the Golden Trio, one only Albus really understood. James thrived on it. He really liked the attention and praise he got for being the son of the The-Boy-Who-Lived; he used it to get away with many things. Lily and Hugo were both still too young and naïve to understand, but Albus and Rose grew up too soon.

Rose was smart, of course, but she wasn't the brightest witch of her age like her mother. She did read a lot and tried to use big words to compensate, but it wasn't something that came naturally to her. She felt very bothered by it, as she wanted to be Minister for Magic one day and a part of her was very afraid she wouldn't succeed.

She was definitely not Gryffindor brave and that's one of the traits that brought her closer to Albus. They weren't as reckless as James or Fred. And although they did love their family, many times they would rather just be in the company of each other. 

"Good evening, first years, and welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"Neville's animated voice and quirky smile took the attention of Rose and the other first years.

Albus, however, head his eyes fixed to a statue on the room they had arrived. It was a Dumbledore statue, the man who gave him his name. Below it, a transcript read: 

" _It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"_

Albus sighed. As if it was not enough having to live up to your father's history, he still had to deal with inheriting the name of one of the greatest wizards of all time. He was pretty sure he wouldn't be as capable of creating amazing quotes. 

"Now if you will please follow me…"

It took him a push from Rose to realise they were supposed to move. Professor Longbottom took them to an annex off the Great Hall and proceeded to explain about the sorting ceremony. Nothing Rose or Albus hadn't already heard about. Katrina, however, tried to follow it without wandering in her thoughts. That was the biggest place she had ever been in and it was so overwhelming. She wasn't the only one fascinated though; even the first years who came from magical families were impressed with the castle, including Rose and Albus. The only ones who didn't convey much emotion were a couple of rich purebloods like Scorpius.

After the Professor finished the usual procedure, the Great Hall door was open and the new students faced for the first time the largest room in the castle. As Rose read on her way there, the ceiling was enchanted, so it looked like the sky and the candles made it more beautiful than it was possible to describe.

While they walked along the tables, Albus and Rose saw their cousins sat on their respective houses. On the Gryffindor table, James shot his usual teasing look at Al, Fred waved trying to get Katrina's attention (the girl was now absolutely awed looking at the ceiling as she walked) and Dom was nowhere interested in any of it, chewing her nails. On the Ravenclaw table, Rose caught a glimpse of a very ill-looking Victoire, who still looked gorgeous regardless, and Molly Weasley II with her nose behind the newest edition of The Quibbler, a cousin Rose only saw during Christmas or special occasions and wasn't really into communicating to anyone but the Lovegoods/Scamander and her younger sister Lucy.

Rose immediately predicted she wouldn't be having a lot of fun on that house. She hoped, however, it would make her focus on her studies. Their Quidditch team was also pretty good and Rose could help kick her cousin's arse with her chaser abilities when she became old enough. She would definitely miss Albus' company though, as she wouldn't have him to help laughing at the quirkiness of some Ravenclaws that were like the Scamander twins' mother, Luna.

They could see each other between classes, of course, but she knew it wouldn't be the same, especially if Al became closer to the girl they met on the train. Deep down inside, Rose was a bit scared he might be giving her more attention if they were sorted into the same house, or anyone, for that matter.

Albus, of course, felt very similar to Rose about that experience. His anxiety was getting worse each second. His hands were sweating a lot and he tried to hide that by pressing them against his robes.

The old hat was on top of a bench when Professor Longbottom finally got to the end of the hall. He then proceeded to look for something in his robes. As it was taking to long, Rose used that moment to analyse the Professor's table.

There were no signs of Hagrid or Ted. The fat Headmaster was at the middle. Rose knew his name was Elphias Doge. The very old wizard was quite the suck up, which she assumed was what got him this position. She went with her parents to a Ministry ball once and saw it first-hand, as he praised almost religiously her uncle, Harry, and her parents. She didn't think it was forged though; he just seemed very passionate, which could be a big flaw for such an important position that required a lot of wit.

 _"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_

 _But don't judge on what you see,_

 _I'll eat myself if you can find_

 _A smarter hat than me."_

The hat started singing and the first years jumped in surprise, even Rose, who had already read about it, but was lost in her analysis.

" _You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all."_

Professor Longbottom with a desperate look on his face still could not find what he was looking for and decided to run for the Headmaster's advice.

" _There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be."_

By the end of the second verse, Neville was already back to his spot near the hat.

" _You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_  
 _Where they are just and loyal,_  
 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_  
 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_  
 _if you've a ready mind,_  
 _Where those of wit and learning,_  
 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin_  
 _You'll make your real friends,_  
 _Those cunning folks use any means_  
 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_  
 _And don't get in a flap!_  
 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_  
 _For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

Al was cringing by the end of the song. He felt like he did not belong to any of those houses and was already thinking if it wouldn't be possible to go home and maybe be homeschooled, but that would mean only seeing Rose during the Holidays and Summer Break. He would have to endure it for the sake of not becoming a hermit.

"Well, children…" Professor Longbottom started nervously "The tradition is to call your names in alphabetical order so you'd sit on the bench and put the hat on to be sorted." He scratched his back " _However_ , our dear poltergeist Peeves, who you will get more familiar with during your years here, thought it would be funny to hide the student list…"

Quick laughter ran through the room. Many tried to contain it, as Professor Longbottom was very dear to most of the students. James and Fred, even though they were very fond of him, cracked up.

"So, if you will please make a line here, we can get this over as quickly as possible. Sit on the bench, say your name and I will put the hat on your heads. Once he announces your house, you can go sit with your housemates"

Katrina winced. She was the first in line and she was afraid she would mess everything up. Rose and Albus were a couple of people behind, also not happy with the changes, particularly Rose, who would go from one of the lasts to fourth.

The brunette muggleborn did as the Professor said, sitting on the bench and saying her name very quickly. Neville smiled empathetically at her seeing her nervousness. The hat took a few seconds, but once it finally shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" the halls was filled with claps and echeers. The girl felt very relieved as she got to sit with James, Fred and Dominique.

The second was also a girl, smaller and quite a few pounds heavier. Her name was Melissa Polmear and she got sorted into Ravenclaw. The boy after her was also a Ravenclaw, called Amadeus Poke, who seemed very shy with his hands clutched at the bench and his cheeks bright red once he got the applause.

Rose was next. She lifted her chin high up as she could already hear the babbling around her. Her bushy red locks were very recognizable. Everyone knew from the Daily Prophet, the Witch Weekly or any other news column that she was the first daughter of 2/3 of the Golden Trio. It didn't make her scared, only slightly angry that they already had a preconceived notion of her because of her parents.

She _knew_ she wasn't a Gryffindor and once the hat was in her head, he knew that also.

"You indeed inherited your mother's brain…" it said.

 _That's what everyone says_ , she immediately thought. Her eyes closed, trying to avoid having to look at all the curious people around her.

"But I am not everyone, am I?" it responded "You have intelligence common to Ravenclaw, but you do not seek knowledge for its sake, young Weasley."

 _Hmm..._

"Do you know why I put the brightest witch of her age in Gryffindor a few years back?"

Rose did not respond.

"She had the wits of Ravenclaw, of course, but she was noble and valued bravery greatly, she sought that out in her friends. I put her in Gryffindor because I knew she would find it there"

The girl was still confused. She did not identify herself with the reasons the hat put her mother in Gryffindor and it suggested she did not correspond to how Ravenclaws felt about knowledge.

"You're an ambitious young mind. That I can see. You wish to use your brain to get to somewhere and make a name for yourself that sets you apart from your parents. Deep down inside it screams in you, Rose. You seek those who will help you on your way to greatness. You belong with the misunderstoods. You belong in… SLYTHERIN!"

The entire hall went quiet for a moment.

Rose's heart skipped a beat, but she did not let it show. She opened her big blue eyes to find Albus staring at her. He was surprised, indeed, but unlike the rest of the people, James, for example, who freaked out on the Gryffindor table, his look was comforting, supportive.

The silence was now filled with constant chatting through all houses. That was the daughter of 2/3 of the Golden Trio and they expected anything but Slytherin from her. Even Professor Longbottom was in a bit of a shock once he took the hat off her head.

At some point, the Headmaster had to interfere, asking everyone for silence. Rose looked at him and also saw a puzzled complexion, and then back at Al, who gave her an encouraging smile. She took a deep breath and head towards the Slytherin table.

To her surprise, she received a few applauses and sat near what seemed like one of the house's Prefect, who gave her a cordial smile once she settled. When she turned to look back at the hat, Albus was already on the bench, his hands clutched at its borders. He bit his lip and looked at Rose.

She smiled at him like he did when it was her turn and he seemed to relax a little. His eyes, however, seemed to slip a couple of times towards the Gryffindor table, where James was still arguing with Dominique, who continued to look uninterested at the whole process, and Fred, who still had his mouth wide open, looking at Rose.

It took Albus longer than usual. Rose heard someone mutter it might be a hatstall. She knew it would only make things worse for him. Once, the hat shouted the result, however, the reaction of the students was a lot quicker than with Rose.

"THE HAT IS CURSED!" a Hufflepuff shouted.

"THEIR FAMILY WAS CURSED!" responded someone at the Gryffindor table.

James had the face the colour of his house, while pulling his own hair. Unlike Rose, Albus tried to ignore everyone's reaction by quickly stepping towards the table. His lower lip was bitten almost to the point of bleeding and he didn't even look at the few people applauding him at the Slytherin table. He only sat next to Rose and sank his head on the table.

She put her hand on his shoulder, comforting him.

"Don't worry" said the Prefect next to Rose "Here in Slytherin, we take care of our own"

Albus only ate at the Feast because Rose almost forced him to, but he really didn't have any appetite. He was also very silent, even though she tried to make him talk a few times. "This pumpkin juice is great, isn't it?" "Don't you want some mashed potatoes?" After a couple of monosyllabic answers, she gave up. She knew he just needed to be alone with his thoughts for a while.

The silence maintained itself from the journey to the Dungeons. He didn't even seem to listen to the Prefect's instructions. Rose tried to absorb what she could. The Prefect giving them wasn't the same who she sat next to at the table, but he did repeat the same sentence about Slytherins. He explained about the house's bad reputation and told people not to mind that, they were only, like the snake, misunderstood. He also informed that any problems should be reported to the Prefects or the Head of the house, Professor Slughorn, _never_ , he emphasised, to anyone from the other houses.

"The password is "seaweed" now. It changes every fortnight so pay attention to the notice board"

By the end of the welcoming speech, they finally entered the common room. It was a lot cosier and aesthetically pleasing than expected. Like Rose had read in "Hogwarts, A History", it did seem like it was built to have the aura of a mysterious, underwater shipwreck. It was even colder than the rest of the castle. She could see the bottom of the Lake through the window panes and according to the Prefect who sat next to Rose, it was possible to see the giant squib very often through them.

The lighting was quite dim, sourced by some greenish lamps. The many chairs and couches were either black leather or green velvet. Most of the furniture was in dark wood or stone, like the walls. Rose saw a few study tables, but imagined studying at the common room wouldn't be the best because of the lighting. She would have to spend some time at the library for that.

After it was given them time to take a quick look around, they were sent to their dorm rooms. Rose said goodnight to Al, but he did not seem to have heard.

Towards the girls' dorms, the redhead noticed the temperature turned more pleasant, which she believed was caused by a warming spell. She was assigned to a room with four other girls and was really impressed by said place. Slytherins seemed to be quite good with the traditional decoration. The walls were covered with important deeds of past Slytherins and Rose wondered if they ever saved a place for Severus Snape, the man Albus got his middle name from.

There were five ancient four-poster beds made out of dark wood with green silk hangings. There was also a table at the side and a trunk in front of each one. Rose recognised her trunk in front of a bed near the window pane. Once she approached, she could hear the sound of the lake water lapping against it, which, a Prefect had mentioned earlier, was very soothing for sleeping.

Rose sat on her trunk and took some time to look at her roommates. Three of the girls were chatting animatedly across the room, eventually giving Rose some nasty looks and laughter.

"Don't worry," the fourth girl, whose bed was next to Rose's, said while she took some things out from what seemed like a very full trunk and organised them on her bedside table "They're useless brats"

"Do you know them?" Rose raised her brow. She wasn't really in the mood for conversation, but the girl seemed nice.

"I met two of them at a ball in Paris last summer" she responded, grabbing bag with an insane amount of cosmetics inside "Their fathers work for the International Magic Department at the Ministry, like mine. You know, they just come from typically conservative pureblood families"

Rose got the clue. For a few people from the older, elitist families, the results of the war were not likeable. Many of those lost privileges, positions and proprieties that came from a dark background. Rose didn't pity the girls, but also didn't hate them for not liking her. She was, after all, a Weasley, one of the "blood traitors" who acquired quite a lot of power in the new government.

"I'm Zeena, by the way. Zeena Beau." The girl smiled after she finished tiding her stuff and sat over her bedspreads embroidered with silver threads.

"I'm Rose"

They talked a bit more before it was time to go to bed, but nothing very significant, just enough for Rose to be relieved she wouldn't be alone there. Rose hadn't noticed her in the Slytherin table; though Zeena wasn't hard to notice at all. Despite being very thin, she was pretty tall for her age, even taller than Rose, and had very distinguishing cat-like green eyes. She was also, in Rose's opinion, wearing too much make up for an eleven-year-old.

She did seem a bit vain during their chat, but surprisingly, Rose wasn't very bothered by it. It kept her from thinking of all the problems she would have to face the next day, the main one being having to tell her father about the whole thing.

The opportunity, however, never arrived, as when Rose and Zeena were having breakfast at the Great Hall, Rose received a letter from her parents. Of course, James probably had already told everyone in the family about the two "traitors". Totally uninspired to deal with it at the moment, Rose simply put away her letter before opening it up and continued to delight herself with her pancakes. She wondered where and how Albus was right now, as she didn't catch any glimpse of him at the common room or the Great Hall. She wondered if he was avoiding running into James or any other family member.

"Letter from your parents?" asked Zeena, across the table, sipping on her pumpkin juice. Rose nodded. "Aren't you going to open?"

"I'd rather not now. Did you get anything?"

"Nope. My dad is just probably too busy to write. Mum said she would send me a letter with the Witch Weekly's once it came out. She's working there now."

Rose wished for a moment her family was more laidback like Zeena's. The Weasleys were all too worried about everyone in the family. They had the habit of sharing everything. She just wanted them to be less smothering sometimes.

"We better hurry" Rose said looking at the pocket watch her father gave to her on her birthday "We don't want to be late for Potions"

* * *

Albus spent most of his night staring at the stone ceiling of the Dorm Room. His head was racing with so many thoughts and feelings that not even the sound of the lake water made any difference. He just kept tossing and turning until his body couldn't possibly handle being awake anymore. He dreamed he was alone. His family had abandoned him, Rose too. Everyone hated him and told him he was not worth of being the son of Harry Potter.

He had had similar nightmares before, but never as intense as this one. He woke up to his sweaty covers. Through the bed hangings, he saw a pale and tall figure.

"Better hurry, Potter" a cold voice said "We're fifteen minutes late"

Albus shook his head and jumped out of bed once he realised the boy wasn't kidding.

"Where's everyone?" he asked the boy, who was putting on his green and silver tie, noticing they were the only ones in the room.

"They thought it would be funny to turn off our alarm clocks and forget to tell us" the boy responded. Albus, now half way dressed, realised he had seen the boy before. He was pretty sure it was on the platform, but could not remember his name.

"Oh, great" he replied sarcastically "I'm Albus, by the way" He hadn't had a good head start in Slytherin, having talked to nobody but Rose since the sorting. Al thought he should try being cordial for once.

"I know" the answer was a bit sharp "And I'm Scorpius Malfoy. Guess you know why we both got this welcoming gift now"

Albus then remembered clearly the moment his Uncle Ron pointed him out with the rest of the Malfoys before they hopped on the train. However, although he could see a reason for the other boys to play a prank on the son of "The-Boy-Who-Lived", he couldn't imagine why they would prank one of their own. Nevertheless, there was no time for these questions.

"Slughorn will hate us for losing points for Slytherin on his class" Al pointed out, grabbing his potions' book.

"Indeed" Scorpius agreed, reaching out for something inside one of his drawers. "I have a plan, though"

The blond took out a long cape from the drawer, and once he covered his arm with it, Albus saw it disappear.

"It's an invisibility cloak" Al stated.

"It is" Scorpius confirmed "Let's just hope it doesn't run out before we arrive. Be quick, then."

* * *

 _A little more into the personality of our characters here. Don't forget to give me some feedback. I intend to post the third chapter very soon :)_

 _S._


	3. The Prank

**CHAPTER THREE**  
 _The Prank_

Rose tapped her feet anxiously as Professor Slughorn presented himself and started writing some basics on the blackboard. It was nothing she hadn't already seen on the books so she didn't bother wasting her ink. She was, however, very bothered by the fact she hadn't seen Albus since the previous night.

"Merlin, Rose, please stop! It's making _me_ anxious!" murmured Zeena on her ear.

The redhead stopped with a muffled sigh and Zeena continued to draw things on her parchment's corner. Rose gave up and decided to copy the subject anyway to at least free her mind from her worries.

She didn't write many words, though, until the classroom's door burst open. She was expecting Al to appear and feared for the points he would lose for this. The older Slytherins wouldn't make it easier for him if he lost points on his first class. The crack, however, revealed nobody and Professor Slughorn only closed it with his wand, muttering Peeve's name along with what seemed like a swear.

"Boo!" Once, Slughorn turned to the board again, a figure popped on Rose's side, almost making her jump out of her chair. It was Albus who was smiling back at her.

"Something wrong, Miss Weasley?" Slughorn asked with a genuine smile. She knew she was a look out on his list because of her parents and decided to take the opportunity.

"Just wondering if we're going to cover the differences between Monkshood and Wolfsbane, sir"

Albus applauded mentally at how quick she was to play it off, considering he saw she didn't have many annotations written.

"Oh, I was about to get into that, seems like you've read my mind… Or the textbook" Slughorn responded with a big smile and continued explaining the subject. Rose made sure to look at Albus like he would have to explain what happened later.

Once the class was over, though, Professor Slughorn held Albus and Scorpius back and Albus had to tell his cousin he would meet her at the Great Hall for lunch.

"You thought I wouldn't notice your absence, didn't you?" he asked giving them some heavy books to carry "Well, at least I'm glad the rest of the classroom did not. I would have to deduct points from my own house and Merlin, do I hate doing that"

"We're sorry, Professor" Al started and Slughorn's face turned a little more friendly "We got…" he looked at Scorpius, who encouraged him not to tell what really happened "caught up with something"

"It won't repeat itself, sir" said Scorpius, quite more eloquently.

"Hm…" Slughorn quickly glanced at Malfoy, yet trying to avoid eye contact, then turned to Albus again with a much lighter complexion "And how are your parents, Mr. Potter? Haven't seen them in person since your mother's last game for the Harpies"

"They're fine… I guess." Albus felt quite uncomfortable having to answer questions about his parents.

"I was pretty excited with you and Miss Weasley's sorting. Having you in my house will be quite an honour"

Albus just smiled politely and finished putting away the books with Scorpius before they left. He wasn't planning on continuing any conversation, but Scorpius called him into a corner as soon as they left the dungeons.

"It's best if you don't tell people about this" Albus nodded. "Not even the Weasley girl"

"Don't worry, I won't" he lied, of course. Al couldn't keep anything from Rose, especially when it came from someone he had just met. Even if Scorpius wasn't a Malfoy, Albus would still not have trusted him right away.

"Also," Scorpius said before the Potter boy could walk out "I've got an idea to prevent accidents like the alarm clock one for the rest of the year, in case you are interested…" Albus' face lit up a bit. He didn't really fancy being bullied for the next seven years, although he knew that would be a possibility when he picked the house. "Meet me in the common room at eleven tonight"

* * *

"So… he didn't tell you the plan?" asked Rose with her eyebrows raised before giving her large chicken wing another hungry bite, quite the contrast to Zeena, sitting next to her, who ate her salad in tiny pieces.

"Nope" Albus nded, finally eating properly a meal, his favourite and classic fish and chips "But he sure told me not to tell you about the Invisibility cloak"

"Oopsie" Rose grinned.

"Or anyone, for that matter" Albus added looking directly at Zeena, who was absorbing the whole story in detail. She simply smiled back at him, not at all feeling guilty of hearing.

"He sure is suspicious" the redhead continued.

"Your father told us to stay away"

"Well, I don't think dad is the best person to tell that… I'm sure by now I'm no longer his daughter"

Rose sighed. Her relationship with her father wasn't the best. He did try sometimes to do things with her, but he wasn't very good at parenting. He wasn't even the one to teach her how to play Quidditch. His relationship with her brother Hugo, however, was better. Perhaps for him being a boy and liking to play around at the shop with Ron.

Her mother was more understanding. She would at least stop and listen to what Rose had to say. The problem was she spent a lot of time working at the Ministry, so Rose spent most of her time at the Burrow or the Potter's growing up.

"Did you get a letter?"

"As expected. But I haven't opened it yet" Rose could still feel the paper against her robes, weighing her like a stone, just like the burden of her name.

"You should. Maybe he's okay with it" Even Albus laughed at his attempt to console her. He knew how obtuse Uncle Ron could be sometimes when it came to anything Voldemort-related. "Well, he'll come around, I guess. I'm sure he can't hate us forever"

"As if family reunions could get any weirder" Rose said, seeing James, Fred and Dom entering the Hall. James glanced at the Slytherin table a few times, still with a big frown, but Dom and Fred were acting normally. Rose noticed Katrina was with them once they sat on the Gryffindor table.

She had seen her in Potions' and pretended she didn't to avoid any type of contact. There was something about the girl that was really bothering. Of course, Rose wouldn't admit it was jealousy, especially now that she had a house feud as an excuse.

Albus didn't notice her; he made sure to keep his eyes away from his brother. It wasn't that he regret his choice, he was just not ready to deal with consequences. Just like Rose wasn't by not opening her letter once it arrived.

The letter from _his_ parents, though, arrived when lunch was almost ending and he was glad he didn't postpone his reading. Once he read his father's kind words reminding him of what he had said at King's Cross, it helped quite a bit with taking the weight of his shoulders. His mother also let him know she sent a howler to James for being such a rat.

The howler came almost at the same time and it made many people at the Slytherin table laugh hysterically, including Rose, Zeena and him.

Scorpius was not there. Albus didn't see him for the rest of the day, as they did not have classes in the afternoon on Saturdays. Rose and Zeena went to the library because the redhead wanted some books on wandless magic (Albus knew very well why), but he decided to go to the owlery and write back to his parents instead. It would also be good to have some time alone, as he hadn't gotten any since his arrival. Unless you count bathroom time, of course, yet that didn't take too long.

Al spotted his owl quite quickly, as she was in a brawl with a tawny owl. He didn't even bother to try and separate them; just found somewhere he could sit where there was no owl poop. The sounds of bickering were a bit annoying, but they were surely better than the chit chat in the common room, where he would have to take the risk of running into one of his roommates or any of the other 90% of the house, who, he presumed, hated his family.

Things had been so overwhelming ever since he got the letter. Not that his life wasn't already agitated and troubled before, but it sure got a lot worse since the start of the summer.

He wished for moment to come back to two years prior, when James first got his letter and went to Hogwarts. All eyes were on him, all expectations. And James loved it, he fed off of it. That way, Albus could just stay in his comfort zone with Rose, just laughing it all off, reading books and playing Quidditch. Eventually there were some public events they would have to go with their family, those were awful, but most of the time was just chilling at the Burrow.

Now, he had about a thousand people to judge him every day, to look down at everything he would do and to make him feel unworthy. Yet he knew, if he had picked Gryffindor, the alternative the hat presented, he would be feeling a lot worse because he would've lost the only person he could truly trust of all Hogwarts.

He did not write his true feelings in the letter, though. It wasn't for his father to know because Harry also never asked for any of it. He also probably wouldn't understand. People like the Headmaster or the Minister praised him for everything. Harry Potter was the chosen one since an early age and he delivered the expected. He defeated Voldemort. He married a gorgeous successful pure-blood. He became Head of the Auror Department. He was the father of a Gryffindor and now… He had a Slytherin child. It just didn't match the description and it didn't matter how many times Harry said it was okay and Albus knew Slytherins weren't necessarily bad people, not everyone would think like that.

As Albus finished his quick words ( _"I'm doing great, (…) making friends, (…) Hogwarts is really awesome"_ ), he started feeling a little bit colder, like he did entering the dungeons, but it was like it came from inside of him. His signature looked lousy because his hands were shaking by the end. He felt his heart in his mouth for a bit, but once he closed his eyes and took three deep breaths it all passed.

He gave the letter to Quaffle, his pygmy owl, who had lost the fight and a few of her feathers. It barely took a second before she flew out of the owlery. She was indeed a very agitated owl. He should've picked Bludger as the name.

* * *

"I didn't think you would show up"

Albus did not answer. He thought hanging out with the son of one of his ther's old enemies late at night on the empty Slytherin common room would have sounded like one of James' bad jokes a few weeks back. It could be a joke indeed, but there he was with nothing to lose and he was fueled by a small desire for revenge.

Scorpius began to explain the plan, after he double checked there was no one around. The prefects had already left for their patrol and it didn't seem like they would come back so soon. Albus listened attentively and was glad he wouldn't have to do much work. It wasn't the first time he got back at a prank, considering he and Rose would sometimes do it with James, Fred and Dominique. Unlike those three, however, they would not brag about it or get caught. Rose was pretty meticulous about strategy, much like Scorpius, it seemed.

They went back to their room very quietly to make sure none of their roommates heard anything. Scorpius went to his bed near one of the windows and got under his covers. Albus, under the Scorpius' visibility cloak made sure the drapes in his bed were closed, so no one would miss him.

The first scream came from Ernest Fudge, whose ankles had just been grabbed quickly by an invisible Albus.

"W-what was that?" he awoke immediately, stuttering his words.

"What was what?" the boy in the bed beside him asked, still sleepy with his eyes closed. Albus got him next, taking away his covers and instantly making him jump out of bed. "MERLIN! WHO DID THAT?"

His scream was enough to wake the third boy, Kevin Lestrange, but before he could say anything, Albus pushed the books that were on his bedside table to the floor. The loud bang made him squeeze his pillow tightly.

"Guess it's true then..." said Malfoy in his usual cold tone, making all the frightened eyes in the room turn to him.

" _What_ , exactly, Malfoy?" Fudge asked. By then, Albus was already waiting next to the door.

"The spirit of Salazar, of course." the three boys were dubious about it. They haven't heard of any ghost stories in Slytherin besides the ones involving the Bloody Baron "It hunts those who try to prejudicate their own house, of course"

"And _how_ would you know about it, Malfoy?" the one questioning now was Kevin Lestrange.

"Obviously we don't invite people like you to the mansion anymore, Lestrange, but you might have heard we have a pretty rich library with books not even your family could ever find" The silence still presented their suspicion. "But, of course, we could always call the Prefects and explain to them the incident of this morning"

"You wouldn't..."

" _Or…_ I could call the Bloody Baron to make sure it leaves, with the guarantee that it won't ever happen again"

Albus wanted to laugh at the other boys' faces, he wasn't sure if they had bought the spirit of Salazar's story, but they sure were scared of whatever the Prefects could make to ruin the rest of their school lives. Picking on Albus and Scorpius was definitely not worth it.

"Whatever, Malfoy..." Kevin responded in agreement, covering himself back with the silky sheets and looking away. Malfoy wasn't quick to get up and did so with a devilish grin upon his face. Albus already waited him outside the door, on the stairs to the common room.

"Come with me..." Scorpius murmured as he reached the boy, no longer covered by the cloak.

"Where to? Shouldn't I go back to bed?"

"Not now. It would be suspicious if the door opened before I came back. Besides, I need to give the cloak back to its owner"

"And should we be seen with each other?" Albus realised later his question might've sounded offensive, but Scorpius didn't seem to mind "Also, aren't the Prefects supposed to be here any time?"

"That won't be a problem, Potter. You'd think the Slytherin house wouldn't have its secret passages? This is knowledge passed on by my family for years. Just follow me"

And Albus did.

* * *

 _A.N.: Happy 2016, everyone! Shorter chapter, I know. Had a busy end of the year, but now things will likely settle. I've had a few ideas for a short fanfic about the reconstruction of Hogwarts right after the second war, let's see if I can put it in paper. I've also been working on a story about a secret nordic school of magic (competition to Durmstrang) in the HP world, but all original characters and earlier timeline._

 _XxX_

 _S._


End file.
